Amber Infrastructure joins Future Cities Forum climate change event

Following the Mayor of London's announcement at COP 26 this week that he will commit £30 million to the Mayor's Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF) over the next two years, Amber Infrastructure which runs MEEF, will join Future Cities Forum's climate event to discuss the success of the fund.

Amber Infrastructure is a specialist international investment manager, focussed on investment origination, asset management and fund management. Amber's core business focusses on sourcing, developing, advising, investing in and managing infrastructure assets across the public, transport, energy, digital and demographic infrastructure sectors that support the lives of people, homes and businesses internationally.

The Mayor's statement gives the clear aim that the funding will support projects that further his aim of making London Net Zero by 2030. The new investment means the fund could secure over £500 million of finances in its five years of operation, until 2023. Projects will deliver new low carbon technology to upgrade existing buildings through interventions such as retrofitting and installing heat pumps and supporting clean transport through the provisions of electric vehicle charging hubs.

Amber Infrastructure Principle, Peter Radford, told Future Cities Forum in May this year - in a discussion with the Infrastructure & Projects Authority and sustainability leaders from local authorities:

' We have got to get on with it now. Some of the innovation in EV charging is super exciting, especially around the use of street lights. Can we make more use of physical infrastructure, rather than starting form scratch? Can we look at charging and wider space using block chain payments? What can we do about electric taxis all wanting to use rapid chargers at same time? We shouldn't be building more charging points but looking at flexing the times of charging using incentives to charge at off-peak times.

The MEEF funds will also help tackle inequalities exposed and exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. London has some of the highest levels of fuel poverty in the country with one in nine London households unable to meet the cost of heating their homes. MEEF's energy efficiency and low-carbon heat projects help reduce energy bills and improve living conditions for thousands of Londoners. They will also support Londoners with the skills they need for jobs in the green economy, rebuilding the capital post-COVID so that it's cleaner, greener and fairer.

The Mayor has been clear that public sector finances alone will not mobilise the investment required to achieve his targets of net zero by 2030 but MEEF demonstrates how London can accelerate climate action through a combination of public and private sector capital investment. Latest estimates show that upgrading London's infrastructure to make it zero carbon could cost £100 billion with retrofitting buildings, heat pumps and delivering a zero emission vehicle fleet.

Since its launch in July 2018, MEEF has provided investment to public authorities and the private sector, mobilising over £310 million of capital and reducing London's CO2 emissions by more than 12,650 tonnes, which is equivalent to taking 14,200 cars off the road or the energy consumption of 2,311 households.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq khan said:

'COP 26 is a landmark moment in the battle against climate change...that is why I've committed to making London net zero by 2030, faster than any other comparable city and it's why we are delivering a climate action plan that is compatible with the highest ambitions of the Paris Agreement.'